SARGON AND THE MODERN HISTORICAL CRITICISM
The sources for the reign of Sargon (722-705) [Footnote: Collected in
Winckler, _Kellschrifttexte Sargons_, 1889.] have already been
discussed in detail elsewhere. All that is here needed is a summary of
results. [Footnote: Olmstead, _Western Asia in the Days of Sargon of
Assyria_, 1908, 1 ff.] They fall into three well marked groups. The
first includes the early inscriptions of the reign, which are
miscellaneous in character. [Footnote: _Sargon_, 17 ff.] The
circumstances under which Sargon came to the throne are indicated by a
tablet from the second year which is of all the more value in that it
is not a formal annals or display inscription. [Footnote: K. 1349;
Winckler, _Sammlung_, II, 1; AOF. I. 401 ff.] The Nimrud
inscription comes from Kalhu, the earliest capital of
Sargon. Unfortunately, it is very brief and is not arranged in
chronological order. Aside from the rather full account of Pisiris of
Carchemish, sufficient to date the inscription soon after its capture,
we have only the briefest of references, and its value would be
nothing, could we only secure the original, perhaps the earliest
edition of the Annals, on which it is based. [Footnote: L. 33f;
Winckler, _Sargon_, I. 168 ff. II. 48; Lyon,
_Assyr. Manual_, 9f; Pelser, KB, II. 34 ff.; Menant, 204 ff.] A
brief fragment may be noted because of its mention of the sixth year,
though we cannot be sure of the class to which it belongs. [Footnote:
K. 1660; Winckler, _Sammlung_, II. 4.] Other fragments are either
unpublished or of no importance. [Footnote: K. 221+2669; K. 3149;
K. 3150; K. 4455; K. 4463, Winckler, _Sammlung_, II. 6; K. 4471,
_ibid_. II. 4; DT. 310; 83-1-18, 215. The unpublished fragments
known from Bezold, _Catalogue, ad loc_.]
As a proved source for the second group, the newly discovered tablet
should begin our study. [Footnote: Thureau-Dangin, _Relation de la
Huitieme Campagne de Sargon_, 1912.]From the standpoint of source
study, it is of exceptional value as it is strictly contemporaneous
and yet gives a very detailed account in Annals form of the events of
a single year. The tablet was "written", probably composed, though it
may mean copied, by Nabu shallimshunu, the great scribe of the King,
the very learned, the man of Sargon, the eldest son of
Harmaki,--seemingly an Egyptian name,--and inhabitant of the city of
Ashur. It was brought (before the God Ashur?) in the limmu or eponym
year of Ishtar duri, 714-713, and tells us of the events of 714. It is
written on an unusually large tablet of clay and is in, the form of a
letter. It begins "To Ashur the father of the gods... greatly, greatly
may there be peace. To the gods of destiny and the goddesses who
inhabit Ehar sag gal kurkurra, their great temple, greatly, greatly
may there be peace. To the gods of destiny and the goddesses who
inhabit the city of Ashur their great temple, greatly, greatly may
there be peace. To the city and its inhabitants may there be peace. To
the palace which is situated in the midst may there be peace. As
for [Footnote: So Thureau-Dangin, _ad hoc_.] Sargon the holy
priest, the servant, who fears thy great godhead, and for his camp,
greatly, greatly there is peace." So this looks like a letter from the
king to the god Ashur, to the city named from him, and to its
inhabitants. Yet it is a very unusual rescript, very different from
those which have come down to us in the official archives, especially
in the use of the third person in speaking of the king, while in the
regular letters the first is always found. Further, in the body of the
supposed letter, the king, as is usual in the official annals, speaks
in the first person.
However it may be with the real character of the "letter," there can
be no doubt as to its great value. To be sure, we may see in its boast
that in the campaign but six soldiers were lost a more or less severe
stretching of the truth, but, at least in comparison with the later
records, it is not only much fuller, but far more accurate. Indeed,
comparison with the later Annals shows that document to be even worse
than we had dared suspect.
Comparison of the newly discovered inscription with the parallel
passages of the broken prism B shows that this is simply a condensed
form of its original. The booty seems to have been closely copied, but
the topographical details are much abbreviated. The discovery of this
tablet, while supplying the lacunae in Prism B, has made this part
useless. But all the more clearly is brought out the superiority, in
this very section, of the Prism over the later Annals. Naturally, we
assume the same to be true in the other portions preserved, in fact,
the discovery of the tablet has been a brilliant confirmation of the
proof long ago given that this was superior to the Annals. [Footnote:
Olmstead, _Sargon_, 11 ff., with reconstruction of the order of
the various fragments, as against Prasek, OLZ. XII. 117, who sharply
attacked me "über den historischen wert den Stab zu brechen."]
Unfortunately but a part of these fragments has been published
[Footnote: Winckler, _Sargon_, II. 45 ff. cf. I. xif. Photograph,
Ball, _Light from the East_, 185. Thureau-Dangin,
_op_. _cit_., 76 ff.] and the difficulties in the way of
copying these fragments have made many mistakes. [Footnote: To judge
by a comparison of Winckler's text with that prepared by King for
Thureau-Dangin, _l.c._] But a few of these fragments have as yet
been translated or even discussed. [Footnote: Winckler, _Sargon_,
I. 186 f.; AOF. II. 71 ff.; _Mitth. Vorderas. Gesell._, 1898, 1,
53; Thureau-Dangin, _l.c._] For all parts of the reign which they
cover, save where we have the tablet, they are now clearly seen to be
our best authorities, nearer in date to the events they chronicle and
much freer from suspicion than the Annals. The most urgent need for
the history of the reign is that the fragments which are still
unpublished [Footnote: Cf. Bezold, ZA. 1889, 411 n. 1.] should be
published at once with a collation of those previously given. Even a
translation and examination of the fragments already published would
mark a considerable advance in our knowledge of the period. [Footnote:
For detailed study of Prism B, cf. Olmstead, _l.c._]
Very similar to Prism B is our other broken prism, A. [Footnote:
Winckler. _Sargon_, II. 44; 1. 186 ff.;
_Untersuch. Altor. Gesch._, 118 ff.; _Textbuch_3, 41 f.;
Rogers, 329 f.; G. Smith, _Disc._, 288 ff. Boscawen,
_Bab. Or. Rec._ IV. 118 ff. The Dalta episode and the beginning
and end are still untranslated.] Both were found at Nineveh [Footnote:
G. Smith, _Disc._, 147.] and this of itself proves a date some
distance from the end of the reign when Sargon was established at Dur
Sharruken. [Footnote: Cf. Olmstead, _Sargon_, 14 n.] Prism A is
of much the same type as the other, in fact, when we see how the
Ashdod expedition, begun in the one, can be continued in the other,
[Footnote: As in Winckler, _Sargon_, I. 186 ff.] we are led to
believe that the two had a similar text. If, however, the Dalta
episode in each refers to the same event, then they had quite
different texts in this part of the history. Which of the two is the
earlier and more trustworthy, if they did not have identical texts,
and what are their relative relations cannot be decided in their
fragmentary state, but that they are superior to the Annals is
clear. Like Prism B, Prism A is worthy of better treatment and greater
attention than it has yet been given.
The third group consists of the documents from about the year 707,
which have come down to us inscribed on the walls of Sargon's capital,
Dur Sharruken. [Footnote: For discussion of this group, cf. Olmstead,
_Sargon_, 6 ff.] The earliest document of this group is naturally
the inscription of the cylinders which were deposited as corner
stones, [Footnote: Place, _Nineve_, II. 291 ff.; Oppert, _Dour
Sarkayan_, 11 ff.; I R. 36; Lyon, _Keilschrifttexte Sargons_,
1 ff. Winckler, _Sargon_, II. 43; Menant, 199 ff.; Peiser,
KB. II. 38 ff. Barta, in Harper, 59 ff.] indeed, it closely agrees
with the deed of gift which dated to 714. [Footnote: Cf. Olmstead,
_Sargon_, 178 f.] The same inscription is also found on
slabs. [Footnote: Menant, RT. XIII. 194.] It is the fullest and best
account of the building of Dur Sharruken, and from it the other
documents of the group seem to have derived their building
recital. Nor are other phases of the culture life neglected, as
witness, for example, the well known attempt to fix prices and lower
the high cost of living by royal edict.
The remaining inscriptions of the group are all closely related and
all seem derived from the Annals. The display inscription gives the
data of the Annals in briefer form and in geographical order. Numbers
are very much increased, and its only value is in filling the too
numerous lacunæ of its original. [Footnote: Botta, _Mon. de
Nineve_, 95 ff.; Winckler, _Sargon_, II. 30 ff.; I. 97 ff.
Oppert-Menant, _Fastes de Sargon_.-JA. 1863 ff.; Menant, 18 ff.;
Oppert, RP¹, IX. 1 ff.; Peiser, KB. II. 52 ff.] Imperfect recognition
of its character has led many astray. [Footnote: The error in
connecting Piru and Hanunu, for example, already pointed out by
Olmstead, _Sargon_, 10, is still held by S. A. Cook, art.
Philistines, in the new _Encyclopedia Britannica_.] Other
inscriptions of the group are incised on bulls, on founda-slabs, on
bricks, pottery, and glass, or as labels on the sculptures. Save for
the last, they are of absolutely no value for the historian as they
simply abstract from the Annals. As for the Cyprus stole, its location
alone gives it a factitious importance. [Footnote: For full
bibliography of the minor inscriptions, cf. Olmstead, _Sargon_, 6
f. For others since found at Ashur, cf. KTA. 37-42; 71; MDOG. 20, 24;
22, 37; 25, 28, 31, 35; 26, 22; 31, 47; Andrä, _Tempel_, 91ff.;
Taf. XXI; Genouillac-Thureau-Dangin, RA. X. 83 ff.]
The one important document of the group, then, is the Annals. That,
with all its value, it is a very much over estimated document, has
already been shown. [Footnote: Olmstead, _Sargon_, 3 ff.] There
are four recensions, some of which differ widely among themselves and
from other inscriptions. For example, there are three accounts of the
fate of Merodach Baladan. In one, he is captured; [Footnote: Display
133.] in the second he begs for peace; [Footnote: Annals V.] in the
third, he runs away and escapes. [Footnote: Annals 349.] Naturally, we
are inclined to accept the last, which is actually confirmed by the
later course of events.
But it is only when we compare the Annals with earlier documents that
we realize how low it ranks, even among official inscriptions. Already
we have learned the dubious character of its chronology. The Assyrian
Chronicle has "in the land" for 712, that is, there was no campaign in
that year. Yet for that very year, the Annals has an expedition
against Asia Minor! It is prism B which solves the puzzle. In the
earliest years, it seems to have had the same chronology as the
Annals. Later, it drops a year behind and, at the point where it ends,
it has given the Ashdod expedition as two years earlier than the
Annals. [Footnote: Cf. Ohmstead, _Sargon_, 11.] Even with the old
data, it was clear that the Prism was earlier and therefore probably
more trustworthy; and it was easy to explain the puzzle by assuming
that years "in the land" had been later padded out by the Annals, just
as we have seen was done for Dan Ashur under Shalmaneser III. Now the
discovery of the tablet of the year 714 has completely vindicated the
character of Prism B while it has even more completely condemned the
Annals as a particularly untrustworthy example of annalistic writing.
In the first place, it shows us how much we have lost. The tablet has
430 lines, of which a remarkably small portion consists of passages
which are mere glorifications or otherwise of no value. Out of this
mass of material, the Annals has utilized but 36 lines. That this is a
fair sample of what we have lost in other years is hardly too much to
suspect. Further, it would seem that the Annals used, not the tablet
itself, but, since it has a phrase common to the Annals and the Prism,
[Footnote: Ann. 125 f.; Prism B, Thureau-Dangin, _op. cit._, 76
f.] but not found in the tablet, either the Prism itself or a common
ancestor.
The cases where we can prove that the editor of the Annals "improved"
his original are few but striking. It is indeed curious that he has in
a few cases lowered the numbers of his original, even to the extent of
giving three fortified cities and twenty four villages [Footnote:
Ann. 105.] where the tablet has twelve fortified cities and eighty
four villages. [Footnote: Tabl. 89.] On the other hand, by a trick
especially common among the Sargonide scribes, the 1,235 sheep of the
tablet [Footnote: Tabl. 349.] has reached the enormous total of
100,225! [Footnote: Ann. 129; of. Thureau-Dangin, _op. cit._, 68,
n. 4 for comparison of numbers. The same phenomenon can be constantly
seen in the huge increases of the numbers of the Display inscription
as compared with its original, the Annals.] More serious, because less
likely to be allowed for, is the statement that Parda was
captured [Footnote: Ann. 106.] when the original merely says that it
was abandoned by its chief. [Footnote: Tabl. 84.] But the most glaring
innovation of the scribe is where, in speaking of the fate of Rusash,
the Haldian king, after his defeat, he adds "with his own iron dagger,
like a pig, his heart he pierced, and his life he ended." [Footnote:
Ann. 139.] This has long been doubted on general principles, [Footnote:
Cf. Olmstead, _Sargon_, 111.] but now we have the proof that it
is only history as the scribe would like it to have been written. For
the new inscription, while giving the conventional picture of the
despair of the defeated king, says not a word of any
suicide. [Footnote: Tabl. 411ff.] However, the tablet does elsewhere
mention the sickness of Rusash, [Footnote: _Ibid._ 115.] and it
may well be that it is to this sickness that we must attribute his
death later. [Footnote: Cf. Thureau-Dangin, _op. cit._, xix.] The
complete misunderstanding of the whole campaign by earlier
writers [Footnote: Compare, for example, the brief and inaccurate
account in Olmstead, _Sargon_, 112 ff., with that in
thureau-Dangin, _op. cit._ on the basis of the new tablet]
furnishes the clearest indication of the unsatisfactory character of
our recital so long as we must rely entirely on the Annals. It is the
discovery of conditions like these which forces us to subject our
official inscriptions to the most rigid scrutiny before we dare use
them in our history. [Footnote: Botta, _Monuments de Ninive_,
pi. 70 ff.; 104 ff.; 158f£.; Winckler, _Sargon_ II. pl. 1
ff. Oppert in Place, _Ninive_, II. 309 ff.; _Les Inscriptions
de Dour Sarkayan_, 29 ff.; RP: VII. 21 ff.; Menant, 158 ff.;
Winckler, _De inscriptione quae vocatur Annalium_, 1886;
_Sargon_, I. 3 ff.]